A novel polymer-ceramic composite low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is composited into electrolyte material, e.g., LaCePr-oxide-La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ (LCP-LSCF), to improve its electrochemical performance and enhance its mechanical strength for a low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell. The influence of different PVDF contents on the performance of the as-prepared samples was studied in this work. X-ray diffraction results indicate that there is no impurity phase in the composite. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were employed to investigate the composite’s stability at operating temperature. The I–V and I–P characteristics indicate that the microstructures of the nanocomposites that can be controlled by PVDF which plays an important role in its electrochemical performance. The cell with 3 wt% PVDF that was heat treated at 210 °C achieved the highest power density of 687 mW cm −2 at 550 °C, which was 196 mW cm −2 higher than that without any heat treatment. The pores are formed by PVDF, and the heat treatment enlarged the triple-phase boundary (TPB), which was the main reason for improved performance.